Sussex Plan Commission to review Meijer permit

Posted: Jan. 15, 2013

Village of Sussex - The Plan Commission will begin Thursday reviewing a 12-page, five-year, proposed conditional use permit for the nearly 200,000-square-foot Meijer grocery and household supercenter on the southeast corner of highways 164 and K (Lisbon Road).

Village Administrator Jeremy Smith said earlier this month that he anticipated the proposed conditional use permit would not be voted on until the February meeting of the Plan Commission. However, Commissioner Pat Tetzlaff, who is also a village trustee, did not the rule out the possibility of a vote on the permit Thursday night.

The Village Board does not vote on conditional use permits approved by the Plan Commission.

However, the proposed permit is contingent on the Meijer Company also receiving permit approvals from the U.S. Corps of Engineers, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Officials with the corps have indicated they have concerns about possible wetlands near a gas station/convenience store adjacent to the supercenter. Local officials and attorneys for the developer have indicated it may be spring of this year before state and federal permit issues are resolved.

In addition, the Plan Commission will also have to approve a business plan of operation for the store and a site plan for the development. The commission and the Village Board will also have to approve a certified survey map of the development.

Although the proposed development requires the village to waive about a half dozen code requirements, the conditional use permit drafted by the village staff described the site as, "one of the few locations in the village that would work for such a development."

The site has "unique factors," according to the proposed permit including "separation from adjoining properties by significant wetland and environmental corridors, a state and county highway for both buffering and efficient traffic management and elevation changes that minimize the impacts on the larger area."

However, the proposed permit also acknowledges the development plans do not comply with some regulations pertaining to parking, setbacks from property boundary lines, and will involve extensive earth work and grading near environmentally sensitive areas.

The permit is for a five-year period. The permit may be automatically renewed for another five years by the Village Administrator if the administrator determines that Meijer Company has complied with the terms of the conditional use permit.